Pacific Grove OKs desalination partnership with Agha

The Pacific Grove City Council has taken the Peninsula water supply bull by the horns and offered the city's services as lead agency for Nader Agha's proposed desalination project at Moss Landing.

The council voted 6-1 Wednesday to approve "an agreement establishing a relationship with Desal America in order to accelerate a water project for Pacific Grove and Monterey County."

Agha is proposing a $129 million desalination plant on the former Kaiser Refractories property next to the Moss Landing Power Plant.

He and Councilmen Rudy Fischer and Dan Miller cited several advantages to choosing that site: the state Public Utilities Commission in 2002 named Moss Landing the preferred site for such a plant; it already has intake pumps and an outfall line in place, simplifying state Coastal Commission permit procedures; and it has access to a pipeline that could connect the plant to the California American Water distribution system.

Fischer and Miller assured council members the city faced no financial risk in agreeing to serve as the public agency for the plant. It is illegal under Monterey County statutes for a private owner to operate a desalination plant.

Agha offered upward of $100,000 immediately to the city to start the ball rolling on preparing an agreement between Desal America and the city, and the council voted, 6-1, to authorize a contribution by Agha of up to $50,000 to cover staff and legal fees for drawing up the agreement.

Dissenting was Councilman Robert Huitt, who said the city staff is already shorthanded and swamped with work, and lacks the expertise on water issues to monitor Desal America as it proceeds with the plant "unless we totally trust Agha and rubber-stamp everything."

He said the City Council doesn't have the time or the expertise to serve as a lead agency for the project.

In February, Agha presented his plan to the council, saying it would be the quickest and cheapest way to replace Carmel River water under a 2016 state reduction order. Agha's plan would entail the city issuing $128.6 million in bonds to buy a 50-acre site and build a plant that could produce 10,700 acre-feet of water a year.

Cal Am, the main water supplier for the Peninsula, is under orders from the state Water Resources Control Board to greatly reduce its pumping from the Carmel River. The water company is expected to submit an application for a new project to the PUC on Monday. The utility has talked about a smaller desal plant north of Marina, aquifer storage and groundwater replenishment as a three-pronged approach.

Fischer said Pacific Grove would invite other cities to participate. Pacific Grove and the other five Peninsula cities are part of the newly formed Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority.

Most members of the public attending the meeting urged the council to get on board with Agha, criticizing the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District as ineffective. Councilman Ken Cuneo said the district has "produced nothing but paychecks" for its employees in its 30 years of existence, and no new water sources.

John Moore, president of the Pacific Grove Taxpayers Association, said the city should do more "due diligence" before offering its services as lead agency for the water plant.

Among his questions were whether title to the proposed 50-acre plant site in Moss Landing Commercial Park is clear, whether expert opinion on the plant's feasibility has been obtained, and whether a title search and certified financial statement of Agha's ability to fund the project have been conducted.